The Last Camel Died at Noon

Elizabeth Peters
aka Barbara Mertz

6/1/2000

Amelia Peabody Emerson and her husband, Professor Radcliffe Emerson, are once again on their way to study archeology in northern Africa. Instead of the Egyptian pyramids, this time they choose to go to Sudan now that the army has made it safer. As they are preparing to leave, they are approached by two members of the family of an explorer who disappeared fourteen years earlier. If they get any leads, could the Emersons please try to locate Willoughby Forth and his wife?

They reluctantly agree. They do not expect to find anything. They take along the evidence provided. Ramses accompanies them as they proceed into the unexplored regions of the Sudanese desert. Before long they learn more about the missing explorer and a long lost civilization that still may exist hidden in the desert. Forth's nephew, Reggie, joins their camp. He is hoping for news and to be able to help locate his uncle.

This is the usual Amelia Peabody light mystery. It is humorous and suspenseful. There are times when Amelia dwells too much on her husband's "attributes", although it is refreshing to have a happily married couple working together. Amelia gets self righteous at times, too. Usually the Emersons tolerate the African culture and work well with it. Occasionally, though, Amelia tries to bring civilization to the savages. The mystery keeps the reader guessing. Any fan of this series will find it a worthy sequel. And does the character we meet at the end become a fixture in later novels? I'll have to keep reading to find out

The Last Camel Died at Noon is available at .

Crocodile on the Sandbank
The Curse of the Pharaohs
The Mummy Case
Lion in the Valley
The Deeds of the Disturber
The Last Camel Died at Noon
The Snake, the Crocodile, and the Dog
The Hippopotamus Pool
Seeing a Large Cat
The Ape Who Guards the Balance
The Falcon at the Portal
He Shall Thunder in the Sky
The Lord of the Silent
The Golden One
Children of the Storm
Guardian of the Horizon
The Serpent on the Crown
Tomb of the Golden Bird